My word for 2011

It seemed to begin almost as a cyber/blog/novelty. It seemed to catch on as a 'thang' people were doing online. Then a wonderful transformation occured. This quasi-novelty-cyber/blog-'thang'  evolved into something real. Something of importance. It grew into a thoughtful, introspective shared journey. Words are being chosen all over cyber-blog-dom. Most fascinating to me are the stories, goals, dreams, passions, worries, hopes, flights of the human heart explanations that encircle the choice of each chosen word. Neat.

Not being one for new year resolutions the 'one word that does (or you want to) mean something for the entire year ' drew me in.  But only ONE word? Nearly impossible for me. Even harder for me than Haiku or Tweeting, lol. That took a bit of pondering. Let me say it again.

                                                   
                                                         Choose one single word. 

(this would be where anyone who know me begins - understandably - to laugh. Heartily.)

But I've done it. I've chose one word.  One single word for 2011.   

Bokeh

(you weren't expecting a normal word from ME, were you?!??)

Oddly this photography term fits my goal for 2011 perfectly.

**I've been immersed in photography as a hobby all my life. But for non-photo-geeks bokeh is the blur & the aesthetic quality of the blur in out- of-focus areas of an image**  A quick google of the term will pull a wealth of beautiful examples till I can place one here on the post.

What bokeh whispers to me is this:  Learn to stop, breathe, listen and look at all the parts of any and everything and appreciate the good aspects of the 'out of focus' (read out of control or unplanned) aspects of each project, goal, event, plan, emotion, success, failure, day, dream.

I am so inclined to line my ducks up in a row.  I even have suggestions on how they should quack. And in what order they should quack. I focus (no photography pun intended) so intensely on the core of whatever I'm doing that much of the surrounding detail, enjoyment, success even, blurs....  I don't appreciate the 'blur' ~ the bokeh ~ for the depth it could and would add if only I'd notice.  Much the same with failures. No unsuccessful event is totally without a plus on the outer edges.  Whatever didn't work out the way I planned or expected is always surrounded in a haze of information, secondary possibility and the (not infrequent) truth that I am/was ultimately happier with the winding ways of fate not giving me what I went after.

I know intellectually there's warm, exciting, fascinating, comforting depth to everything that happens in the surrounding bokeh~haze. Those extra layers may be nearly invisible or blurry but they're there and are worth taking the time, making the effort to appreciate. 

You'll be seeing the word bokeh weave its way thru my writings often this coming year as I try to learn to appreciate all things that are out of focus in 2011. I think these layers surrounding everyday life, every event, are equally - if not more - beautiful and important because of their softened 'made you look' haze.

So that's MY word.

What's yours?

                                                             

 

At last....

At last the gears change & the pace calms a bit
~
The final holiday pieces of jewelry alongside

the last-moment flurry of ornamnents were all

finished and shipped in time for Christmas.
They're now happily in the hands of their new owners!

(& thanks to all those who purchased & emailed me with 'they loved it' updates)
:-)  

Within the next few days the wild disaster that took shape
in both the glass and jewelry studio work areas will be 'tamed' lol. 
New pieces of wearable art
: earrings bracelets & necklaces :
created with lampwork from my bench as well as
pieces created with pearls, gemstones, vintage beads
will be appearing on the website for you to view!

AND there's exciting newness ahead - stay tuned!
          

Merry Happy Contentment

MY WISH FOR EACH OF YOU

WHO SHARES TIME WITH ME HERE

CAN BE CAPTURED IN ONE WORD

CONTENTMENT

I HOPE THAT THIS SEASON BRINGS

EACH OF YOU REASONS LARGE OR SMALL

TO STOP FOR JUST A MOMENT AND KNOW

THE WARMTH OF CONTENTMENT....

IT IS, AS ALL THINGS IN LIFE, 

NOT A CONSTANT
BUT WITH THAT IN MIND

MOMENTS OF CONTENTMENT

ARE ALL THE MORE A GIFT.

AND IF RIGHT NOW, AT THIS TIME

THERE'S NONE IN YOUR LIFE TO BE FOUND

MY WISH IS THAT IT WILL COME
IN THE DAYS THAT STRETCH OUT AHEAD.

MERRY  HAPPY EVERYONE

HAPPY MERRY INDEED....

Done tho a bit late-ish! lol

Just in from the cold and the snow (and a little ice that had to be scraped from the car this morning)!

Food is all done now and Yay! the last tiny (as in baby!) prezzie I had ordered arrived at the post office (a bit behind sched due to weather I guess). I swooped to pick it up from the post office peeps on my rounds so I can get it wrapped/repacked & sent out asap..... Sadly it will be late to arrive as the christmas surprise I had planned (can't say more ~ she reads here & I don't want to ruin the surprise! lol) but I hope it brings just as much happiness as if it had been on time  :-)

In other news it looks like the christmas cookies are going to be new-years cookies if I can't get them done tomorrow. But that may not be bad - what better way to start the year that with cookies?!?? lol
Happy  merry to each and everyone who shares my world here with me - thank you!

Now off to do some unpacking/repacking/putting away of things AND have a cuppa to warm up!

Outside lights Yum!

      Is there anything quite as beautiful and inspiring as all the outside lights and decorations?!
Aside from a bit of gas for the drive it's an almost free joy of Christmas....

I've taken so many pictures of outside decorations that I like (and may try next year) that
I've had to create a separate folder for them, lol

Toy Soldiers

There are so many beautiful images of the holiday to be found online! Each beautiful, each singing in its own way.... So I thought I'd share a handful of images that I'm drawn to with you over the coming days....

Here is todays picture that I love!
Look at these Toy Soldiers standing guard in the glowing tree lights.
Side by side they stand at attention until Santa Arrives :-)

The simple joys of Chrismas

There are so many beautiful images of the holiday to be found online! Varied use of color, degree of detail. Simple, complex. Contemporary & old world. Monochromatic & colorful. Each beautiful, each singing in its own way....

So I thought I'd share a handful of images that I'm drawn to with you over the coming days.... 

And if, in the last minute rush you aren't able to stop by again my warmest wishes for a Merry Happy Christmas. Not necessarily filled with presents, or vast tables of eatery, or grand events.

What I wish for you is the warmth of happiness in the simple joys of the season -

From my mum via email today lol

How cute is this?!!!!!   
Love it!  (and truth be told it's a bit how I feel trying to tie up all loose ends)

How about you? Are you ready?
*if you have to lie to me to say you're not ready yet either I think that would be ok lol*

Whaaaaat???!!!!

Paper Hopes

Today, amid an unexpected snowstorm,  slippery roads, a cranky waitress and other day to day detritus I noted I was beginning to feel just the slightest bit cranky. Nothing intense or overt. Emotional diaper rash would best describe the pathway my mood was taking. The grapes at my first grocery stop were moldy, the bank computer was sluggish. The diaper rash-ness intensified. Sigh. Several stops later, I was at the last errand of my day, Walmart. Entering the store, wobbly wheeled snow cover cart (two additional annoyances) in hand  it caught my eye. It was sad. It was forlorn. Just shy of forsaken. A tiny little artificial tree. It's branches were filled with less-than-perfectly-cut pieces of paper. Intended to be rectangles, many were versions of rectangles. Hung by ribbons. 

Cranky or not there was something about that tree. Those clumsily cut pieces of paper. It was a vision of imperfection. It struck me as I viewed that quasi tragic little tree that the heartfelt honest imperfectness - the humanity it proudly (even defiantly) exuded is what I've missed most about christmas for a long time. I couldn't walk by it....  It wouldn't let me.

I turned over the first beribboned paper to read the request.
In printed hand it said, simply, soap.
I turned over another tag and found, again, one word.  Deodorant.
I turned over another.
In beautiful scripted handwriting, just one word filled the space - toothpaste.
I turned over the next. A child had printed - a shirt. Any color. Any kind.
I couldn't stop turning and reading tags....
The next asked for a toothbrush. Underneath in smaller letters it said toothpaste too? 
I turned over the next revealing this wish - a comb.

 I think I stopped breathing for a moment.
I think my heart stopped for a second. Or two.
I know I felt embarrassed at my irritation over the falling snow
(snow falling on my heated home)
I know I felt absurdly foolish to have been annoyed with the waitress
(while eating my lunch out)
Like a shock of electric current it occurred to me how fortunate I am.
I hardly think about having all the things on those tags.
I hardly think of many other comforts in my life
I have never been cold, hungry, dirty, unclothed.
I have never longed for a comb, deodorant, toothbrush, or toothpaste too?
(as tho asking for a toothbrush AND toothpasste was an excessive request)
I have never had to contemplate how hard it would be to ask for those things, if needed

I'm a fairly no-nonsense, non-weepy person by nature.
But I found it growing difficult to read those little pieces of paper hope bleary eyed
I gathered as many of those beribboned odd shaped tags as my budget could cover
Next week I'm heading back to that tree again to gather and fill more wishes

I found a whole new meaning in the holidays today.
In a Walmart.
Hanging on the branches of a bent up fake tree.

Life is full of surprises.
And lessons.
And Paper Hopes

FDFerris copyright 2010

What can I say?

LOL I try really really I try NOT to let things follow me home (that's another post in and of itself)! 

But look, just look at this face.....

Could you have left him behind?!????
(assuming of course you have a fondness for frogs sitting on orbs like I do, roflmao)

Ribbbitttttttt

Now I have to resist the urge to put a tiny little christmas hat and/or bow on him.... Help me.....

HEY! Actually you can help me! In comments tell me your opinion - vote 'yes or no' on
a christmas outfit for frog!

PS don't forget to swing by yesterdays post to see remaining beads supersale link (at Flickr)

Ribbittttttttt

Cyber Monday Sold Out (thank you!) so it's extended to Tues (new work)

2011 Cyber Monday (and yes, lol 2011 Tardy Tuesday!) can be found on the studio website this year!
                                               www.fdferrisbeads.com
THREE pages of items on sale - see page directory at the website for cyber-sale pages 1, 2 and 3!
                                                   ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


NEWS! I've just added beads a la' FLICKR for a TARDY TUESDAY sale Everything SOLD for Cyber Monday - thank you! But I'd intended to have even more to offer & since (lol) I couldn't quite get everything listed I'm extending the sale into Tuesday (Tardy Tuesday in honor of ME not getting everything listed yet) :-) So far it's only the images and bead names (use the bead name to request/buy a bead) by emailing me at glasschick at yahoo dot com (you know how to adjust the email addy :-) with the bead name in the subject line......

EVERY bead, button, focal single or set, boro or moretti on the FLICKR Tardy Tuesday Set Showcase is ONLY $6.99! (plus 2.50 shipping and sales tax if shipped to a NY addy).

$6.99! That's less than half price on several of them! Yay!

The details and more beads will be going up tonite and tomorrow. First to email me at glasschick at yahoo dot com gets the bead and I'll mark sold as quickly as I can to avoid bead-buyis-interruptus (LOL) Here's the link

Set page that shows pics in stationary fashion (you can click for detail info) http://www.flickr.com/photos/55279639@N06/sets/72157625495079150/

Or this link (just below) that takes you directly to the page showing all the detail info on each bead (and allows for comments) ~ I like to make every version of viewing easily available :-) After all, I live for your lampwork-bead-related-happiness! http://www.flickr.com/photos/55279639@N06/sets/72157625495079150/detail/

NEWEST on the website http://www.fdferrisbeads.com/ are:
Snowman ornament, heart button
Reliquia (female torso)
(Go to New work page 2 from the menu above & scroll down the page to see them)!

~~~ If you'd like an email when new work goes up on the studio website email me at glasschick@yahoo.com with 'subscribe' in the subject line

Perfect As It Is

No photoshop
No "paint"
No fix or crop
Or straighten....

Not one of these was needed
To improve these bytes
Sun painted..

Some moments and some images
Are perfect on their own
Unaided...
FDFerris 2010    

Gobble!

Only a quick note at the moment to say Happy Thanksgiving to each of you - more of a post later :-)

Knockin On The Door

  

A little bit 'o ice

on the pond.....

           

 No doubt about it

  Winter's on her way

Selling What You Create

It doesn't vary. Not one bit. Insanity abounds, lol.

Preparing for a 'go-to-the-site' show or preparing for an in-studio show/sale or taking images and uploading for a website sale.  It's all the same.
Lots of work, lots of late nites. And did I mention the insanity? yes, I believe I did, roflmao

As it happens this moment finds me preparing for a website upload of new work, with some pieces going to Etsy perhaps.

But the same mind-muttering occurs as if I were packing to head to a show (as I did years ago) or preparing for a studio sale or selling via the studio website.  Do I have enough? Is the mix of offerings well balanced? Is the price spread what it should be?  LOL exhausted before I even begin the selling with all my second-guessing! I suspect every artist, offering work for sale goes thru much the same review rundown.

The funny thing is that most believe for all decades (tho I'm not a day over 30 something ok?) I have created, sold, taught, had an online presence I undoubtedly have a neat tidy formula for each aspect. Uber refined routines. Can do it in my sleep. Uh yeah right, roflmao. Perhaps I should have been an actress if that's how it appears! :-)  Selling in each and every venue has variants that simply can't be planned for in a neat orderly way. Other anxieties are human and while they grow to be more familiar, they never cease....  

There are tips and there are tricks and there are things (if anyone is interested?) I could share (let me know in comments) that are helpful. But mostly, selling is part work, part worry and a dash of insanity!

Now, I'd best return to all three, lol!

Creative Solitude

I lived in solitude
in the country

And noticed how
The monotony
Of a quiet life

Stimulates the
creative mind.

A Einstein

Farewell

The weeks from June to November

always include a stop at the local produce stand.

It's an errand (unlike grocery store shopping) that I look forward to & enjoy.

Part of the reason is the obvious visual charm

But my love of 'farm stand' perusing goes so much deeper than the mix of colors & textures!

The smells! The weathered wood crates! The props (look at that handsome old wheelbarrow)

                                        Veg and fruit and flower all gathered in one place.

My mind dances with thoughts of medieval markets

Images of women with baskets in times long gone, the image paints itself in my mind...

Here, at farm-stands there are no 

'departments'

No canned music

No disinterested 'employees'

Everything offered is nestled together

like a little community of growing visual or edible bits of life!

The 'music' is background chatter, news being shared,
concern for a neighbor or happy updates

Laughter.

(When was the last time you heard anyone laugh in a grocery store)?

A moment or two with the grower/owner - who often offers a slice of  melon or apple

while telling the story, flavor, favored growing condition of whatever you

hold in your hand.

I want 2 apples? I can have two apples!

Not in plastic bags from far off lands but the two I hand pick from the crate.

Best of all, buying here supports the people who work tirelessly to plant, weed, water, watch-over

harvest, pack, carry, set up, watch-over-and-sell-themselves. No middleman. No overhead.

Every time you or I buy a piece of fruit or tomatoe or flower the farmer/grower
sets out here, this way, they see so much more profit for the efforts he or she has invested.

For the buyers, ah the taste! The freshness! The (often) non-pesticided-ness!

The not-been-in-plastic-bags-and-trucks-forever-ness! The choice!

Magic.

Simple, enjoyable, ancient magic...

If you've never tried it, you don't know what you're missing.
Find the nearest stand, open market next year and Go..

If you love it like I do, you understand when I tell you

how much I love, yet am saddened by pumpkin/apple/mum season

at the market because soon, it will be grocery-store-only season.

I'll be (as every year) counting the days till my little farm stand is open again!

I'll be counting down to being able to again buy good food from good people at good prices

And the magic.....

AHEAD

The path ahead seems

(some days)

to be an upward climb

(in every direction)

Over and again

challenges and changes

layer upon one another

Yet the obstacles

fail to diminish

my desire to outwit

each stumbling block

put in place

The more I'm told

"You can't"

The more certain I become
That I Can  and I will...

Verse and Image Copyright FDFerris 2010   

First snow



In a nod to the first snowfall
over the weekend....

NEW ON THE WEBSITE   :-)
 Snowman ornament (tree or window)

I AM...

I AM

I am a wide open spaces kind of soul
Happiest in places where traffic noise is distant
(better yet, non existent)
And the flashing notice no cell signal is magic to me 

More fond of moonlight than malls

More drawn to trails than tiaras
(tho I do have a tiara just in case I have a tiara longing)
I seek to be solitary from humanity yet surrounded by 'beings'

"Travel among us" whisper the hills to me

And when I do

The trees speak of legends

The birds whisper secrets

The paired hawks call borders

(While floating upon invisible currents of time)

I am alone

but

not

lonely

Within these hills

Within these moments
I can simply

contentedly

be

who
I

Am...

The trees, the birds, the border hawks
Understand the layers of time
The anchor and flow of the past
The immediacy of now
And the length of forever

They understand (and embrace)

the diversity

that dances thru all three layers

of time and life
(including the occasional tiara)

FDFerris copyright 2010





Mid-week-musing

Up at 3:45 am (yes that is the normal time I drag my butt cheerfully spring out of bed daily). Tidy up of the personal being and go directly from bath to coffee pot. Do not pass go, do not collect 200 dollars and no get out of jail free card if you get in my way, lol  Coffee in hand, the day begins officially.

No two days are the same in anyone's world. A bit more-so for me, a self employed artist.  I have a core of routine but the edges of each day weave up (or unravel, lol) differently each & every 24 hour cycle.  So when you stop by here to visit you will find most anything/everything  a widely (or perhaps wildly!) varied array of topics/thoughts/images. Not necessarily cohesive. Not at all contrived. Just me.

Glass, verse, rambles, (occasional) rants, humor, whining, ups, downs, chase my tail around in circles.

What's the meaning of it all?  For me? For you? For the world at large  (or small)?  Not a clue.  But it's lovely to have cyber-company on the journey!

And please do feel at ease to chat along via comments. There is so much to be found reading the shared thoughts you leave behind here...

Views in my world

        Another view in  my world   :-)

new beads pulled and cleaned

yesterday from the studio kilns

Novemburrrrrrrr

November
She's a tiny bit hard to get along with
She takes my orange yellow leaves
My dappled sun, no longer summer strong
But sill able to dance through
October Autumn leaves

November
She closes my windows
Stills my billowing lace sheers
That are my icon for summer daydreaming

She makes the sensible heat saving me
Go even one step further as I drop the blinds

November steals away the long long longgggg days
That have been trippingly decreasing for months
(but I blame her - she carries the designated time change date)

She's hard to befriend
This cold dark month

But she brings small gifts to win me over
(or to appease me at the very least)

In the form of crisp apples and pumpkins
In the longing for sweaters and blankets
Absent all hot steaming summer

And September-October-Fall

She gifts me with my renewed passion to bake
Breads and sweets will again fill the house

With inside aroma and coziness
Exiled in Summer

Perhaps I'll befriend her
These weeks, uncared for by me, of November
Not not for the gifts she brings
Not ignoring the loves of mine she takes

But perhaps I can befriend her

Based on the thought that she
Like me
Is, simply, who she is
Both good and bad interwoven, inseparable
The loveable (and unlikeable) parts of the whole
November
Copyright FDFerris 2010

WE HAVE A WINNER!!!!
 I waited till my husband was available to draw the blog giveaway winning name & he drew.....

Averilpam!
I've emailed you :-)

Now.... for everyone else who left a comment or joined me via 'follow' for this drawing, read on....
I wish I had beads enough and shipping funds enough to send each of you a little consolation prize...

Tho I'm not able to do that, I CAN give each of you who commented (or began to follow) via this post a small thank you gift ~ which is: 

the first time you order from my website or the blog
(I sometimes offer goodies here for sale) the shipping will be free :-) as a small thank you for being part of this drawing. How does that sound???????

Lightbulb moment

The greatest control
is found by deciding
not
to
                       control

FALL CLEANING

Fall - time to clean-the-nest for me.
Odd? Well, lets say "different..."
I know Spring cleaning is the standard but it's never worked for me, lol. When Spring arrives she beckons, whispers, calls-me-outside! House and I have been together all winter. We love each other but we need a little time apart. Spring cleaning holds no magic for me.

Fall is the opposite.
Fall stirs up all the nesting needs in my little heart and mind. House and I will soon be returning to our beloved  intense companionship of winter ( just shy of forever when you consider the length of winters in Upstate NY).  

Decor & organizational thoughts dreams & schemes considered and shelved all Spring and Summer come to life. Sort! Clean! Paint! (Re)Arrange! Label! Projects!
Lions and tigers and bears (oh my!)

Coffee in hand this morning I started jotting down notes of the things I'd love to accomplish this Fall. Oh I love the list! On the list all things are possible! There is no nod to time. No thought of budget! The list is a daydream put to words. My not-yet-real plan in ink.  What's on the list?  LOL it's not finished yet. It'll take a few more cups of coffee to finish. But once it is I'll share my list.

If you're a fellow fall-cleaner I'd love to know what you have on your list?!

Views in my world

Not all days are the same, lol
Some give time to ponder, to pontificate...
Some give time enough only to breathe!
So on the only time to breathe days
I thought maybe I'd simply share
a random view
from
my
world

 Many Thanks To Each And Every Person 

Who left a comment on Andrew's blog during
my Thursday giveaway.

Sharing time, sharing words, sharing the fun!
Your comments made my heart sing....

I'd say I was pleased beyond words
but if you know me, (or you've been reading here ) you know (lol) I'm seldom without words  :-)

So instead let me say "My thanks to each of you for all the kind thoughts you shared about my beads"!

I'm looking forward to visiting each of your blogs over the coming weeks, sharing in return and chatting to and fro. And I hope you'll stop by here again, from time to time!

PS Thanks too, to Andrew, for hosting the Thursday giveaway!

PSS Did you see Andrew's WONDERFUL news? (click here )

Faye

Thursday Giveaway! (One of THREE)!

What fun it was, the giveaway at Andrew's Blog!

                      :-( But it's over & done  :-(
Read on to join the giveaway here open till 12mn 10/28!

Welcome welcome to the blog edition of the Thursday Giveaway
 curated by jewelry designer, artist, wordsmith, observer of life  Andrew Thornton! The primary giveaway featuring my work this Thursday can be found on Andrew's delightful blog (simply click the link to view and join in the fun of the giveaway there)!

I thought in addition to the giveaway Andrew  is (was) hosting, it would be even more enjoyable to hold a second giveaway here on my journal! If one is good, two is better, yes? lol

To be entered in the blog-bead-giveaway-drawing HERE on my muse mutters, leave a comment on this post. I'll put your blog name or your name (if you don't have a blog) into the drawing. IF you also sign up to follow me here on blogger visibly (adding your little icon to my follow list) I'll add your name/or blog name again, doubling your chances to win the drawing here! 

These beads as seen will go to the name drawn (the stone must remain with me, he's an old friend.....) The focal bead is large, dynamic. A deep brooding center is balanced by beige on each opposing end and further embellished with swirls and droplets of lavender.  The focal is of moretti as are the companions. Fully properly annealed. Stringing access on the focal is top to bottom as seen.
Note: Beads are not for use by children of any age...
            
But wait, there's more! roflmao. 

If ONE giveaway is great fun & TWO giveaways are exciting, aaaahhhhhh how about THREE!!?!!?? So yes, I'm having another give away on the studio website. After all, can there be such a thing as too much fun or too many beads? Hmmmm? I think not, lol

To view the website giveaway just click studio giveaway.  At the bottom of the page you'll find the studio website giveaway! To be entered in the studio giveaway, sign up for my studio newsletter mailing list (link on main page and in page menu) for a chance to win the beads there.

My blog and website drawing will end (10/28)
Remember the drawing on andrew-thornton's blog will end 10/25

I'll also be adding new pieces from my studio to my website for the next seven days in case you want to do a bit of wandering/shopping while you're there  :-)

Faye

The Quest Continues LLC

Tis the season



 FALL IN THE NORTHEAST

I have a theory that Fall is so beautiful here as an apology from Nature for Winter
It is an astoudingly beautiful time of year. A time I hold close. The color, the fading warmth. The time of year that is (for me) the season to review the year. I know, that's supposed to occur at the end of the year. But not for me. For me amid the splash of color, the freedom of the leaves as they swoop and swirl briefly en-route to the ground
is the time of review for me....
Fall is the time I glance back over the entire year.

Each peak and valley,each loss, each gain.
I fondly remember the moments of laughter.
I gently revisit the disappointments and pains.
Each joy, each angst a significant thread
in the warp and weave
of the dwindling year.

Amid the reds and yellows set to brilliant sun
Against the reflection of soaking rain
I turn each month, each event, every random moment
over in my mind.

Winter is too harsh and cold
for enjoyable introspection.
Annual review is best back-dropped
by color and wet and wind and dappled sun.

Old friends lost, new friends found.
Doors that closed, drawbridges that were secured.
Moats  that needed to be filled (with water & alligators).
But there were windows opened and ladders extended.
Yin and Yang.

Good choices, bad choices,
looking back one or two
what was I thinking?! choices, lol
The usual mix, knowing that every decision
had reasons that made sense at the time.

One last cup of coffee on the porch
A whispered 'farewell' to the final falling leaves
Sweaters unpacked, days growing shorter
Another year reviewed with 'notes to self' made for 2011
2011... It'll be a good year
Fall in the Northeast
for me.....
Image and Text by FDFerris 10 ~ 2010   
PLEASE VISIT (click here) my benefit auction for ANDREW THORNTON



AUCTION for Andrew Thornton (now closed) THANK YOU ALL!

THE BLOG-CTION is now CLOSED. My heartfelt thanks to everyone who entered bids!

Each and every one of you were a step in the journey to help Andrew. No small thing.
Kindness is never a small thing. 
And along the way each of you confirmed what the world needs to see....
**many kind, caring, giving people who don't just 'talk the talk' but who "DO" **

 From the bottom (and top and middle lol) of my heart ~ Thank you....

     The current high bid for the beads closed at $60.00!!
And additional funds are being offered  for donation. Wonderful!

A fellow artist, someone I've not known long but I think of as a friend, is dealing with a health crisis. Difficult enough in and of itself. But as is true of so many artists, he faces the additional concern and worry of the cost of needed treatment and care.

With that in mind I'm offering six of my lampwork beads here via what I'm going to call (here I go creating new words again roflmao) a blogction (blog auction)! Every penny of this sale will benefit Andrew Thornton.  The blog auction will run from the moment it posts today 10/16 until - noon on 10/23. US shipping will be included free.

There is no starting bid. I leave that to all of you. Tell me via email what you'd like to bid/offer and the highest will win - all monies to go to Andrew.  Periodically I'll post the current higest bid. Bid via email & as often as you like and on 10/23 the highest bid/offer received will win all six beads. Remember, FREE shipping in the United States.

***  click HERE to place any/all bids  ***

I hope you'll bid with your heart, and tho the wisdom with auctions (normally, lol) is not to share a link with potential competing bidders I hope you'll do just the opposite and send a link far and wide to everyone you can! (thank you!)  

Images of beads are below!
*Beads are not for use by children of any age 

I made these six beads with messages, thoughts, hopes & wishes for Andrew in mind......

The bee for beeeelieving all will be well!

The fish for swimming with the flow of life....

The heart for  the fondness so many of us have for him & the center swirl in the heart to signify 'strength from within'

The fall leaf with white edge wrap for the time of year...

The tab bead ~ of orange for strength & endurance ~ beige for patience and calm....

The yellow filligrana bead for sunny, happy, days ahead....

Two images below please see both :-) And click on second image to see all beads in that image as some of my sidebar prevents full view.

*Better images to follow (sizes to follow also for those who wish to know) Forgive my impatience in not waiting to post this until the pics were perfect and details  all gathered. I wanted to get this started  today before the weekend slipped away so more people would have a chance to view!

Note: These beads are not for use/wear by children of any age....The fish and bee are not recommended for wearable use - fin and wings are fragile - but the beeee and fish would be grand for decorative use!

 

Two Words

Experience
Expense

It struck me how similar these two words are in sound, in letter content and configuration.
Look at them and notice how many letters are the same. Consider for a minute how few words (overall) contain the letter X. They have a similar sound to the ear. Side by side they are surprisingly similar.

Different definitions? Yes of course.
But then again it occurs to me how, in living life, they eloquently intertwine.

In the dynamic flow of living life of gaining experience (classes, events, travel, hobbies, moving, purchasing a home) the associated cost immediately comes to mind. 

But think for a moment with me about the emotional cost/investment of life experiences.  We're far less inclined to consider the "expense" of experiences in terms of emotion. Experiences (especially deeply personal ones) that stretch us as individuals 'cost' us in bravery, dedication, fear. Intense experiences may compensate us ultimately in satisfaction, in achievement, in wisdom. But they also cost in humilty, patience, awareness and at times fear. 

Experience
Expense

Everything we choose in life (or life chooses for us) comes with expense and leaves us with experience

A bit of madness?

There it is again. Oddly familiar of late. This feeling of something tugging, nibbling, tap-tap-taping on my heart & mind & soul. Desiring attention, yet not quite ready to be seen, not quite prepared to reveal. It's in the background. It moves along, parallel, just out of notice of my view. It's the faint but undeniable  watercolor background of the daytime and the wafting interlude drifting into sleep.  It's the feeling of a ghost in the room, not threatening, not worrisome yet distinctly there....

It sounds a bit like madness I suppose.  Yet it's the twisting turning overture that heralds changed direction, new path unfolding, separate or sometimes added layers that are quietly evolving for me. I wonder if it's like that for everyone? Perhaps it is. Perhaps they hesitate ( being more clever than I) to admit it. Perhaps some never feel the nudge-nudge-nudge of it?  (which would return me to my thought that this is sounding like a bit of madness...)?

But there it is. A sense of change of direction.
Fluttering in my mind like a gently billowing curtain draped across a window in Tuscany.
Like waves smoothing the sand so I can write something new, capture a thought, dance to a variant of my dreams.

We'll see
Yes, we'll see.......

Other Blogs

Checking other peoples blogs is something I look forward to when I have time......
It's akin to checking the snail-mail in the surprise factor. Maybe there will be something fun. Maybe not. But there's a curiosity to be satisfied., the potential of adventure!
With blogs even more-so. There may be so many things awaiting... Drama! Art! Neat food! Endless variation really. Neat.

I can read what I want. Skip around. Read all. Part. Simply scan the newest pictures.
Oh the bliss, the freedom of blog surfing!
I can comment - or not.
I can think deeply about the content - or not.
It is one of the few activities that can be enjoyed with no demands what-so-ever. Neato.

In a way it reminds me of when I was a kid . In the fall/winter during evening drives home I loved to look into the windows of houses. Not in a sicko kind of way, lol but in a curious what kind of pictures or furniture do they have kind of way? What color are their walls painted. I was actually disapointed when people appeared. I wanted to pick and choose what I peeked in at. Weird, I know. But you're used to that by now from me (weird I mean).

So to you who blog every day and provide me with wonderful moments of escape, humor, cooking tips, pieces of art, stories, insights, and the chance to peek into the windows of your life, thank you!

**Note to self:  be a better blogger and provide (some) of the same for those who visit me, lol**

Farewell August...

Farewell August

Days of cloudless skies
Cicadas songs
Brilliant star filled nites

Late evening air so rich and dense 

it's nearly liquid

Farewell August

Days of baking sun

Tomato ripening

Watering can filling (and emptying)
In continual cycles

Farewell August

Days of peak summer green
And yellow corn

Fields of berries red and blue

(A temptation to make jam)

Farewell August
Days of summer porch
Every window open nites
Rounds of deep resounding thunder
And watermelon for two....

  Image and verse fdferris copyright 2010

I have...

I have and hold close

so  many ideas, directions, possibilities

each longing to be explored

investigated

& found to be interesting

(or  not)

Some flow, some jump, some

even now only appear in the

corner of my eye

vanishing when I look

directly

towards

them

(they are evolving still...)

"tick-tock"

the unstoppable clock

challenges me to choose

what an absurd

challenge.....

How would I winnow

my list of possibilities

which could easily fill

another full lifetime

into any sort of priority

what-so-ever?

Image and text copyright FDFerris 2010

The Secret Garden

Many years past , when we were younger and far more difficult to tire, lol we created a secret garden.

Designed with three six foot walls of concrete block ending in double wooden gates with spikes to mimic old iron gates we'd admired in London. The gates, once painted high gloss black gave a good faux impression of iron.  The garden creation was a massive effort, laying the block, building the gates, brining in the soil and stone. We worked on the project week after week after week. When it was complete it was a fortress of tranquility & it was barren, as any  newly completed project is wont to be.

The concrete blocks (hundreds of them) were bright, as were the mortar joints. Even the small pebble gravel glinted in the sunlight. The only rest for the eye was the darkness of the earth where we'd arranged for future plants and informal gardens.

But even then I knew it was a place I'd love.

The curious thing was that I'd thought the hardest part was done.

But, as it turned out the greatest challenge, and reward, wass to be found in the small details.

And amid the time it would take to arrive at the dreamt of destination.

The secret courtyard garden North wall as it looks today..

First came the decisions we made of what to plant.

Next came the decsion of those plants as to what would live there, lol

     We and the plantings disagreed often.

But plant by plant, step by step, year by year the dream evolved.

Over three decades the walls have softened, the colors gently aged.

The clemantis, ivy, euonymus have become intertwined. Good friends with each other.

Tiger lillies and barberry bushes cluster happily under the crabbapple tree

that buzzes with bees and brilliant pink blooms every Spring.

This place, this tiny garden, has given more hours of pleasure and peace than anyone has a right to have dreampt. So much from such a tiny bit of ground, from such a small inauspicious beginning.

And in the many years I've walked thru it, over the years I've gazed at it thru all four seasons

I'm only now understanding it's a study, a lesson in the flow of life....

All beginnings are difficult. Much work, little rest. Stark at birth.

Some things, ideas, dreams, journeys, die. Others thrive, succeed, flourish.

And often you are never able to understand why....

Most important things take time. Patience. A definate will-not-be-rushed-ness.

Some combinations protect each other. Some combinations compete.

Some have no influence or impact whatsoever at all upon each other.

They simply 'are', day by day, coincidentally sharing space and time.

Some things are dramatically beautiful ~ but for only a season.

Some are beautiful in much quiter ways but for the entire length of the season, even into death.

Life layers.

Flowers = bees

Vines = birds

Ivy = rabbits

Berries = passing visitors only there for as long as the berries last and never return.

There are conflict and scuffles. Births and passings.

There is cohabitation, song, buzzing, rustling, cricket chirping, firefly sparkling.

There is magic.

There is contentment.

In spite of, and alongside the unchosen sadness, passings, competiton, quarreling the magic and contentment remain. Unbowed. Challenged but not diminished, not overcome.

Who knew, when we layed those blocks in the blistering sun decades ago, tired but driven by a dream

that this little patch of ground

would teach us so much about

life....

FDFerris Copyright 2010

HOLD ON? LET GO?

I know how he feels.....

You?

(or is it maybe just me who wonders.....)

MERMAIDS ON THE STUDIO WEBSITE FRIDAY!

SUMMER SHARED

I think one of my favorite parts of summer is

the unexpected visitors that share the days with me...

Resting a bit - but still watching the nest!

                                                          

Sometimes you get lucky TWICE Happy Dads Day Papa!

I can't say for certain but I'd be inclined to believe most are lucky to be close to one parent, to be adult friends with their mother or their father. My life was gifted twice because I was and am incredibly close to my father also. Daddy (aka knight in shining armor) Dad, pa, pappa.


It's said that he was every bit as happy about his 'first' being a girl as a boy. Never restricting me to the confines of 'girl activities' Dad opened every door the male world offered for me. He taught me to fish (catch and release) he let me help paint the house (with a q-tip LOL as I wasn't much older than in this picture at the time).

We happily shared time together from the beginning. So much more am I for the fact he taught me of fish and motors, how to read animal prints in the mud (and explained why ice cream is cold :-) pictured above). No question was turned away, no opportunity I was interested in learning about withheld. Yet simultaneously I remained his princess.....


One of my most consistent early memories of my Dad, being a scientific glassblower, was the sound of his carlisle torch, the magic of his hands working glass. Fascinating. Amazing. He always had a studio at every house. It remains unchanged. Dad continues to work glass as does my fascination with the magic he creates with flame, glass and skill. He's worked with chemists, engineers, scientists and medical researchers designing and creating apparatus that have helped make changes in the world. Tho he'd never say so, his work has been instrumental in significant projects and research that have made a difference. He should be proud - I certainly am proud of him.


When I found the love of my life and married he created the wedding cake top you see for me as a surprise. The tall gates actually open on glass hinges. Once again the significance, the icon of open(ing) doors/gates/pathways. :-)



Tho I find (much to my surprise) there are no pictures of us working glass together, the next door he opened for me gave me a career I love, a place in the tradition of being an apprenticed lampworker that I am so proud to carry. Having apprenticed with my father to learn the art of working glass from him has been and is an amazing journey. Beginning at a time when women working glass were far and few between, when a career in glass as a woman was nearly unheard of he opened the door for me. I won't live long enough to learn all he knows of glass. During the many years we've shared behind the torches, from learning latticino to lathes, he also taught me of life. While we melt(ed) glass together year after year we've talked of life, of choices, of zen, of business, of art. We've pondered how one quantifies 'success', dealing with crisis, relationships, challenges, sorrow and joy. We've talked about the future of lampworking and glass, the dynamics of 'degreed' glass workers vs apprenticeships as we've melted... He teaching, I learning. So much he's taught me in so many ways, about glass and about life.

He's my father, my teacher, my mentor, my friend. I hope to always make you proud Dad as a fellow lampworker carrying on the tradition and skills you have passed to me. And as your daughter.

I Love you Pa ~ I hope you know how much... Happy Fathers Day from 'chickie'